The Notebook
by Arscapi
Summary: Phileas and Rebecca shop for a special gift. Please Read and review!


Title: The Notebook  
  
Author: Arscapi  
  
Author's Note: After I got this idea I actually went back and checked my tapes. For those of you really paying close attention. This story really can't take place. Jules has his notebook before he ever meets Phileas. But I write what little ideas my muses give me with so use your imagination. Also I have to give a special thank you to Tre my bestest friend and also my beta reader.   
  
Spoilers: Queen Victoria and the Mole and Rockets of the Dead  
  
Disclaimer: The characters in the story don't belong to me. I wish they did but they don't, I just borrowed them. I promise to put them back just the way I found them.   
  
  
  
  
Phileas walked patiently along behind his cousin. He hated these periodic shopping trip. Normally he sent Passpartou with Rebecca but she had insisted that he come along this time.  
  
"I want to get him something special. Something to let him know that he can trust us and that we care for him," Rebecca had explained.  
  
He hadn't seen the point to that. "Jules knows he can trust us and has shown we can trust him," Phileas declared.  
  
"I feel awful about the way he has been treated in the short time he's known us. I want to get him something to show him we appreciate him."  
  
Fogg couldn't really argue with that. Some of the pain Jules had experiences had been at his hands. At the time it had seemed like the right approach, but now that he knew the young writer, he couldn't imagine ever suspecting him of wanting to kill the Queen of England. Jules was much more concerned with his ideas on the future and writing his plays. He smiled as he remembered Jules' garret. Jules always had all kinds of drawings plastered to the wall. Whatever his imagination manage to come up with. Jules' imagination still amazed him.  
  
"Phileas, do pay attention." Rebecca's voice broke into his memories.  
  
"What?" Phileas asked, shaking the memories away.  
  
"I said, we are getting no where. I don't even know what to get him. I have these ideas for elaborate and expensive items that would be perfect for him, but I don't think Jules would really enjoy them. I think he'd be emberresed we spent so much money on him. Do you have any ideas," Rebecca asked as a last resort.  
  
"Rebecca, you insisted on dragging me along on this ridiculous quest of yours," Phileas answered annoyed.   
  
"I know, I know, but I'm out of ideas," Rebecca said dejectedly.  
  
"Well, how should I ...," Phileas began and then remembered what he had been thinking about; Jules' garret and his pictures.  
  
"I may have an idea." With that, Phileas took off up the street.   
  
"Phileas, Phileas what did you think of," Rebecca asked, catching up to her cousin.  
  
Phileas didn't answer her just made a turn into a nearby shop.  
  
Rebecca was confused by this behavior until she to entered the shop. She instantly knew that Phileas had the right idea in mind. The store walls were lined with shelves, each containing a different kind of paper. Some of the paper was thin, some thick, some had printing on them and some did not. The store had a curious smell to it and Rebecca was intrigued by it. Phileas was busy scanning the shelves as if looking for something specific.   
  
"May I help you?" What appeared to be the store owner asked as he walked over to Phileas.   
  
"Ah, yes. I'm looking for a notebook or a sketchpad. Something portable, that is easy to move and travel with," Phileas elaborated.  
  
The storekeeper thought for a moment and then motioned for Phileas and Rebecca to follow him over to the counter. "I may have exactly what you're looking for," he said happily. He bent down, pulled out a white notebook and placed it on the counter.  
  
Rebecca was the first to look over it. She ran her fingers along the simple white cover, taking in the brown binding. Flipped it open, there were dozens of pieces of blank white paper. But the thing that impressed her most was that it seemed to be put together so that more papers could be stuffed inside. A quality she was sure Jules would make full use of.   
  
"We'll take it," Rebecca announced without consulting Phileas.  
  
"Just a moment. It still needs something," Phileas thought a moment as if considering what that something was.  
  
"His initials. We could put his initials on the cover," Rebecca suggested.  
  
"An excellent idea," Phileas remarked.  
  
"It is a simple process," the store manager replied, eager to make a sale.  
  
"Excellent, please put the initials JV on the cover. When can we expect delivery," Phileas asked.  
  
"Tomorrow sir," the store manager answered.  
  
After exchanging information the Foggs left the store very pleased with their purchase. Rebecca started making plans for going to Paris to be sure to give Jules his present as soon as possible. Phileas was still trying to make her see reason when they reached the townhouse.  
  
"We are leaving again?" Passepartout asked as the Foggs entered.  
  
His answer was a combination of a yes and a no. Then Rebecca shot her cousin a 'don't argue with me' look and then said, "Yes, we are going to go visit Jules."  
  
**********  
  
Jules gave an annoyed snort at the sound of a knock on the door. He hated being interrupted in the middle of a scene. He was tempted to ignore it when the knock came again, this time accompanied by Rebecca's voice.  
  
"Jules, Jules are you there? It's us."  
  
"Coming," Jules called with a smile. A visit from the Foggs was worth the interruption. He was amazed at how much these people had come to mean to him in the short time he'd known them.  
  
"Hello," he said as he opened the door.  
  
"Master Jules, you being well?" Passepartout asked as the three walked into his garret.   
  
"Yes, Passepartout. About the same as the last time you saw me. Please sit down," Jules said as he quickly but carefully cleared off the small seating area.  
  
Phileas and Rebecca shared a look as they glanced around Jules' room. If anything, it seemed even more filled then it had been when they left.  
  
"So, what's going on?" Jules asked, curious about what had brought the Foggs back to Paris so soon.   
  
Phileas looked straight at Rebecca. Rebecca awarded each of them with one of her most charming smile. "There's actually nothing pressing going on, we came to give you this." She presented him with a small package wrapped loosely in fabric.  
  
"You came all this way to give me a gift," Jules repeated, amazed.  
  
"Yes," Rebecca started, a little nervous. "We... ah... we wanted to show you how much you mean to us," she said.   
  
Jules didn't know what to say, so he turned his attention to unwrapping the gift. He delicately peeled the paper from the present until he uncovered a white book with brown binding. The front of the book had his initials on it. He flipped it open, the pages inside were blank, but he was already starting to imagine things to fill each page. He looked up at the Foggs, surprised.  
  
"We thought you could use a place to organize all those fantastic ideas of yours," Rebecca explained.  
  
"I don't know what to say," Jules said, touched by the gift.  
  
"'Thank you' would be sufficient," Phileas said in a teasing tone.  
  
"Thank you," Jules repeated as Rebecca pulled him into a quick hug.  
  
"Remember Jules, that you have people that trust and care about you," she whispered into his ear.   
  
Having accomplished what they set out to do the Foggs took their leave after receiving a promise that he would join them for dinner. They left Jules standing in the middle of his garret with his newest possession. He flipped through the pages again, and this time, on the inside cover, he noticed an inscription. He recognized Rebecca's handwriting right away. He also noticed Phileas' signature underneath it. He reread the message and then, smiling, set the notebook aside and finished the play he'd been working on with a new sense of belonging. 


End file.
